Lately, it seems as though Sweden is the new Canada. Swift electronics, slick rock, and groups of all sizes are making Sweden an indie hotspot. Complicated textures, fresh vocal styles, and intriguing group dynamics are just a few reasons why the Swedes are helping push us forward more than we even realize. Here are a handful of bands we feel are essential to the movement:
The Knife
Hometown: Stockholm
Label: Rabid Records
Recommended album: Silent Shout / QRO’s Top 15 of 2006
Sounds like: Ghosts are taking over your synthesizers
Peter, Bjorn, & John
Hometown: Stockholm
Label: Wichita Recordings
Recommended album: Writer’s Block / QRO’s Top 15 of 2006
Sounds like: 70’s living room cozyrock
Loney, Dear
Hometown: Jönköping
Label: Dear John Recordings/Sub Pop
Recommended album: Loney, Noir / QRO Review
Sounds like: A Bee Gees demo tape
Love Is All
Hometown: Gothenburg
Label: What’s Your Rupture?
Recommended album: 9 Times That Same Song / QRO’s Top 15 of 2006
Sounds like: Rapid-fire garagepunk with brass
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names
Hometown: Stockholm
Label: Labrador
Recommended album: #3 / QRO Review
Sounds like: Farmland jamboree pop
I’m From Barcelona
Hometown: Jönköping
Label: Dolores/Mute/EMI
Recommended album: Let Me Introduce My Friends
Sounds like: Church choir having a lot of fun
The Radio Dept.
Hometown: Malmö
Label: Labrador
Recommended album: Pet Grief
Sounds like: A rainy day in Silicon Valley
Other notable bands QRO has covered:
Irene
Hometown: Göteborg
Label: Labrador
Recommended album: Apple Bay / QRO Review
Sounds like: Sinatra was in a band that plays 60’s pop
Deportees
Hometown: Umeå
Label: Dolores/Virgin/EMI
Recommended album: Damaged Goods / QRO Review
Sounds like: Songs a lighthouse operator would sing
Loveninjas
Hometown: Stockholm
Label: Labrador
Recommended album: The Secret of the Loveninjas / QRO Review
Sounds like: Bubblegum that blows up in your face
The Legends
Hometown: Stockholm
Label: Labrador
Recommended album: Facts & Figures / QRO Review
Sounds like: Highly-groomed electropop
